Life, 1921-04-21 · page 7 of 36
Life — April 21, 1921 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents classic Aesop's fables illustrated by Oliver Herford (credited as "Copy, 1927"). **"The Ant and the Grasshopper"** depicts the moral lesson about thrift versus idleness: an ant storing grain for winter while a grasshopper plays. When winter arrives, the starving grasshopper begs for help, but the ant refuses, advising the grasshopper to have worked instead of danced. **"The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg"** shows a farmer's fatal greed: he kills his goose expecting to find gold inside, only discovering she was ordinary—a cautionary tale about destroying valuable assets through impatience. The illustrations use simple black-and-white woodcut-style drawings typical of 1920s children's literature. **"Questions That Ought to be Answered"** below shifts to contemporary social commentary, raising concerns about immigrant assimilation, education overcrowding, and government treatment of disabled soldiers—likely referencing post-WWI American anxieties.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
April 2t The Herford Aesop Copy.. 1921, by Oliver Herford. THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG A FARMER once a Goose possessed That laid each morning in her nest A Golden Egg, to him, indeed, A fortune. Yet such was his greed He grew in time suspicious lest* One Egg per day were not the best The Goose could do. “I'm satisfied,” Said he, “she has in her inside, A mint of Gold.” And so the dunce, Thinking to get it all at once, Killed her and found to his chagrin Just flesh and feathers, bones and skin, And other things no earthly use To anyone except a Goose. THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER BUSY Ant one Summer day Was storing grains of wheat away For winter food. A Grasshopper Paused in his song to laugh at her. “Why do you work so hard?” said he; “ Summer's the time for jollity!” The Ant said nothing. By and by Came wintet with the frowning sky And frozen meadows; came also The Grasshopper, with tale of woe. “Help me, for pity’s sake! ” cried he. “No,” said the Ant, “ you mocked at me Last summer ; now you ask to share My harvest. All I have to spare Is Goop Apvice: Exchange your gift Of song and dance for honest thrift!” Questions That Ought to be Answered F the future stability of this country depends upon how soon and how completely immigrants are made over into good Americans, why is it that our foreign language press is more extensive, and growing faster, than in any other country on earth? Why have a foreign language press? Why are not those who deal in the necessities of life, such as coal-dealers, compelled to publish in the press an itemized Statement of their profits? Last year at least 450,000 children in this country (consider- ably more than the total college attendance), were denicd edu- cation because of crowded class rooms, or a lack of teachers. Who is responsible? Why are the cases of disabled soldiers who have been neg- lected by the government through red tape and bureaucratic incompetence, increasing instead of diminishing? Why is Mayor Hylan? comicbooks.com